Barbed fence



O. A. HODGE.

BARBED FENCE.

(No'ModeL) Patented Nov. 6

INVENTORF 64z2 WITNESSE U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHESTER A'. HODGE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BARBED FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,433, dated November 6, 1888.

Application filed September 10, 1888. Serial No. 285,055. (N 0 model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER A. HODGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Barbed Fences; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to barbed fences, particularly of that class shown in UnitedStates Letters Patent to Goss, No. 282, 453, dated July 31, 1883; or Stoll, No. 230,445, dated July 27, 1880; or myself, No. 367,398, dated August 2, 1887, which show a roulette or spur-wheel loosely mounted on a pin or shaft that is'fixed to two line-wires,whereby the roulette is capable of turning freely on its axis to avoid tearing or injuring the flesh of stock or other objects which may come in contact with the barbs on said roulette.

My present improvement'relatcs more particularly to the construction of the roulette or spur-wheel of barbed fences of the class hereinbefore mentioned; and it consists,primarily, of a spur-wheel made of a single piece of wire which is bent upon itself to form an eye and two projecting barbs or spurs on opposite sides of said eye, in combination with a pin or shaft and two line-wires to which said pin is secured.

My invention further consists of a roulette or spur-wheel made of two or more pieces of wire each bent at an intermediate point of its length to form an eye, the two wires being placed together so that the eyes thereof register or coincide to form a broad bearing for the shaft or axis, and the ends of said wires being twisted together on opposite sides of the eyes and then spread laterally to form the prongs, as will be presently more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a barbed fence embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View, on an enlarged scale, of one of the roulettes detached from its supporting means. Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views showing roulettes made of one and two pieces of wire,respectively; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of one form of the supporting-shaft on which the roulette is to be mounted.

wire and mounted-loosely on the shaft B,so as to turn or rotate freely thereon.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings the roulette is shown as made of a single piece of straight wire,which is coiled or bent upon itself at its middle one or more times to form an eye or loop, 0, and the ends of this wire are extended beyond the eye in opposite directions to form the barbs or prongs c, which are preferably made of equal length.

A roulette made of two pieces of wire is shown in Fig. 4. Each piece of wire D and D is bent upon itself in the same manner as the wire shown in Fig. 3, to form the loops or eyes (I and d and the prongs d and (P, and the wires are then adjusted together so that the eyes or loops thereof register or coincide and form a hub or broad bearing for the shaft 13. The ends or prongs d and d on opposite sides of the aligned eyes are now twisted together one or more times, as at e, to firmly and securely unite the two pieces of wire composing the roulette without the aid of separate fastenings, and after these ends have been twisted as described they are spread or forced laterally to form the prongs or spurs proper of the roulette, as indicated at 6.

By the use of the two wires D and D twisted in the manner described a roulette with four prongs is produced, and by increasing the number of pieces of wires I can multiply the number of prongs or barbsas,for instance, by the use of three pieces'of wire, 1, 2, and 3, (shown in Fig. 2,) the roulette is provided with six barbs or prongs.

As in making the roulettes shown in Figs. 3 and a the pieces of wire 1, 2, and 3 are each prepared by making a loop or eye and extending the ends beyond said eye,the eyes of the three wires 1, 2, and 3 are adjusted to coincide with the ends of the wires extendingoutwardly at divergent angles, and one of the prongs, d of the middle wire, 2, is bent or ICO twisted around one prong of the upper wire,1, as at 4, while the other prong of said middle wire,2,is bent around one of the prongs of the lower wire, 3, as at 5, and finally the unconfined prongs of the upper and lower wires,1 and 3, are bent or twisted together at 6. A roulette made of three pieces of wire, as herein described, is provided with six prongs,which extend or project beyond the hub in various different directions, and it also has a broad bearing to enable it to turn or rotate with greater ease and freedom on its axis and maintain it self in a proper horizontal position.

It is obvious that the roulette can be mounted on a shaft having the peculiarities of construction shown in either ofthe patentshereinbeforc referred to withoutnecessitating any change in the construction thereof to adapt said roulette to be used in connection with either of said shafts, and I do not, therefore, limit myself to the use of my improved roulette in connection with the shaft B herein shown, nor to the exact details of construct-ion, nor form and proportion of parts herein shown and described as an embodiment of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a barbed fence, a roulette made of wire bent to form a central hub and the radial prongs or barbs,in combination with thelinewires and a shaft passing through the hub of said roulette and supported by the line-wires, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a barbed fence, a roulette made of a single piece of wire bent upon itself at an intermediate point of its length to form a central eye or hub and having the ends of said wire extended in opposite directions beyond the hub or eye, in combination with the linewires and asupporting-shaft on which the roulette is mounted to turn freely thereon, substantially as and for the purpose described.

Ina barbed fence, a roulette madeof two or more pieces of wire, each having an eye which registers with the corresponding eye of the other wire to form a central hnb,and having the prongs thereof twisted together at points beyond the eyes, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In a barbed fenec,a roulette made of two or more pieces of wire having a central hub and the prongs twisted together and spread laterally,as described,in combination with the linewires and a shaft connected to said linewires and having the roulette mounted thereon to turn freely, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHESTER A. 'IIODGE.

\Vilnesscs:

JOHN A. S'rmnrr, (l. E. DA'YIS. 

